AFL Origin: Geelong speedster Lawson Humphries to honour late grandfather in donning West Australian jumper

Lawson Humphries says he was determined to continue the family legacy and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps to represent Western Australia in the historic AFL Origin clash. The Geelong speedster will pull on the black and gold jumper against Victoria at Optus Stadium on Saturday, nearly 52 years after his grandfather Brian Humphries did the same. Brian was only 20 but was already a West Perth premiership hero when he played two games for the Sandgropers at Subiaco Oval in 1954. Humphries’ brother Joshua still has the jumper Brian wore, proudly displaying it in their home in Wickham and has brought it with the family down to Perth ahead of the historic game. The family legacy gave the 22-year-old speedster ample motivation to push his case and be selected for the enormous clash in front of a sold-out crowd. That’s despite him being easily the least experienced player on the ground. “It was the key motivator for being selected. More than anything, it was continuing the family legacy,” Humphries told The West Australian. “(AFL chief executive) Andrew Dillon hasn’t confirmed it will be something that’ll happen every year, so I wanted to be a part of it in case it’s a one-off. “A lot of my footy journey has been similar to his and the way he played, so it is pretty special to share that with him and the family. I am super grateful for the opportunity and continue the legacy.” Humphries’ father Ross said he was proud of his son to come from rural WA to represent his state on the big stage. “We’ve always been a footballing family and my old man he was 17 when he first went to West Perth and played in a premiership team in his first year,” Ross said. “He was only there for five years before he quit and went back to the bush in Narrogin. When he was the same age as Lawson he retired, but had played 100 games and in two state games. I was always involved in footy myself, coached Lawson and my older boy as well. It got passed on through the family. “What people don’t realise is how difficult it is to reach the top of anything when you live in rural WA. He was born in Derby, grew up in Jabiru, Broome and Wickham. It is hard to get opportunities when you’re in remote and rural communities.” At only 22, Humphries is the youngest member of the Western Australian 25-man team that will tackle the powerhouse Victorian outfit. Humphries represented WA in the under-16s but was dropped for the under-18s before being picked up by the Cats as a mature-age backman late in the 2023 draft. “I am super grateful for the opportunity. I didn’t get picked as an 18 or 17-year-old to play with the WA under-18s, so representing the State was something of a cool concept,” he said. “To be able to do it on the biggest stage now of the AFL is something I am super excited for. “The crowd, the atmosphere is going to be super exciting. I know how patriotic Western Australians are for WA teams so to be a part of that team they’re going for rather than being booed that’ll be pretty good.” Humphries may be young, but he’s already stood tall on the big stage in his first 36 games at the Cattery. He was among Geelong’s best in their grand final defeat to Brisbane last season with 23 disposals, five score involvements and more than 600m gained.